Concerned

I just had an IM conversation with my dad. I am worried about him. It just doesn't seem like he knows some stuff that he needs to know and he doesn't want to take advise from a young whippersnapper! It is so frustrating!!

For example, he's been working apartment maintenance for 25 years. He is currently 49 years old, widowed, and at the top of his pay band. He just refinanced the house, that he and my mom bought over 8 years ago, not quite 2 years ago (just before my mom died). So now he is just over 1 and a half years into his 30 year mortgage.

He was talking about his day and the stresses of his job. I asked him why he doesn't just take a supervisor position and be able to get paid more. His excuse is that being a super is more stressful. From how he talks, I don't know how it could possibly be more stressful than his current postion. He makes it sound as though the boss has a cake job and he and the rest of the crew do all the dirty work.

Keep in mind that he is not in the best of health or physical condition. Read, he has diabetes and is at least 100 lbs overweight. I asked him if he thought he was still going to be able to do his job 10 years from now. I think he has a better chance now of getting another job than he will at 60 and most likely in worse condition than he is in now.

He said something about hoping to have his house paid off and working at McDonalds or something. Does he seriously think he's going to get his house paid off in 10 years?!! I reminded him that he still has over 28 years left on his mortgage. He was dumbfounded at where I came up with 28 years. He thinks that since he originally purchased the house 8 years ago, that he's already that far into his 30 years. He has no clue about any of this. My mom always took care of that kind of stuff.

Nevermind the fact that I worked in a bank for 4 years and learned a lot about mortgatges and that my hubby worked for banks for nearly 10 (some of that with an actual mortgage company!) But we're just kids! We couldn't possibly know more about something than he does.

So, be forewarned G, he'll probably say something to you about how I "attacked" him online or something. I want to make it perfectly clear, no matter how much he embelishes, that I was not attacking him, but was asking questions of him because I am truly concerned for him and his future. He has almost no retirement plan. He owes on his house til he's almost his own father's current age, asuming he doesn't refinance again at the end of his 7 year balloon, and we both know the kind of condition his father's in. And as far as I know, he still doesn't have his house insured to where it will be paid for if something happens to him (regardless of how it happens).

But, I can't bring it up with him anymore, because he is obviously not going to listen. But that will not keep me from being concerned about it.